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Boulder Community Health ends use of toxic herbicides and pesticides

By Drew Albee

For the Camera

Posted:
04/23/2016 11:00:00 AM MDT

Updated:
04/24/2016 09:19:59 AM MDT

Evan Wentworth, a lawn care technician with Organo-Lawn, applies an organic herbicide and fertilizer to a lawn at Boulder Community Health's Foothills campus on Thursday morning. The hospital recently ended its use of toxic herbicides and pesticides. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

While the city of Boulder and the University of Colorado have taken steps toward reducing their use of toxic herbicides and pesticides in the past few years, the city's community hospitals and primary medical campus have lagged behind.

Boulder Community Health, though, recently has weeded toxic herbicides and pesticides out of their lawn treatment and is moving to an all-organic program.

Organo-Lawn, BCH's lawn company since 2006, had been pushing for the switch for years, according to owner Brad Wolfe.

However, there is a key obstacle to moving to safer alternatives.

"The only problem (with moving to organic solutions) is ingredients are pretty expensive and are significantly more expensive than a chemical," Wolfe said.

"But effectiveness-wise, they are the same."

Some residents are listed on the state's pesticide sensitive registry, which requires commercial applicators — such as Organo-Lawn — to notify those on the registry 24 hours before an application is made to a property bordering the registered persons' plot. State law also requires commercial applicators to inform other citizens that pesticides have been used with yellow flags.

"Most of the rules are written for chemicals and don't always make sense. We are required to put down a yellow pesticide application flag, even if the application is organic," Wolfe said. In the end, "Any product that claims to control something else — it's considered a pesticide, so we have to put a yellow flag down."

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However, neither the registry, nor state law, prevents the application of herbicides and pesticides.

"A number of us have health issues that pesticides can exacerbate. I actually stop breathing if exposed to some pesticides," said Boulder resident Jill Iwaskow, who is on the registry.

Prior to the transition away from toxic herbicides and pesticides, citizens with chemical sensitivity were forced to avoid sprayed areas for weeks after treatment. This posed a significant inconvenience to citizens with chemical sensitivity when they attempted to gain access to sites such as BCH's Foothills campus.

"It cuts off our access to medical care, or we have to risk exposure to dangerous chemicals," said Boulder resident Scott Spiegel, who is also on the registry.

Iwaskow and Spiegel were informed that spraying was set to occur at BCH's Foothills campus on Thursday. Iwaskow said citizens have been voicing their concerns to BCH and Boulder City Council for some time.

Last May, Boulder passed a resolution saying it wouldn't use neonicotinoid pesticides on city-managed property, with exceptions being only for a well-defined research study or "when the life or health of a valuable or significant tree is threatened and neonicotinoid application is the least environmentally impactful option." The city also urged residents to avoid such pesticides.

Boulder County and Lafayette both followed suit later in the year.

"It is clear that the citizens of Boulder County do not want pesticides in their environment," said David Wheeler, co-founder and co-director of the Pesticide Free Boulder County Coalition. "For the public good, we've banned smoking in public spaces. For the public good, let's ban environmental poisons like Roundup in public spaces, as well."

"There's a community move towards less toxic means and for the hospital to not follow suit just doesn't make sense," Iwaskow said. "It's a tremendous success that the community hospital responded positively now and is doing the right thing."

The city of Boulder has had an integrated pest management program in place since the early 1990s.

"Part of that involves turf management, which has been completely pesticide free for 15 years now," said Rella Abernathy, the city's integrated pest management coordinator. "We keep winning national awards for our playing fields at Pleasant View. This shows that even with the highest standards, it's possible to not use pesticides for turf management."

Boulder Community Hospital at 1100 Balsam Ave. has been on an all-organic treatment program since 2015, but the Foothills campus is transitioning to an all-organic treatment now as well.

"We use a pre-emergent corn gluten meal weed control and fertilizer, called Synergy; it's a bit more expensive," Wolfe said. "We're now doing a post-emergent One Earth Weed Control. Both are all-organic."

While Organo-Lawn and citizens have been pushing for this change for a while, Boulder Community Health's new facilities director made the switch as soon as he was able.

"We have a relatively new director of facilities," said Richard Sheehan, BCH's director of marketing and public relations. "Concerns were expressed recently. Upon hearing about the concerns, he made the switch."

While concerns surrounding toxic herbicides and pesticides were expressed recently to Boulder Community Health, the community as a whole has seen toxic herbicides and pesticides for a while now.

"People have always been concerned about these products, but the city bases our practices on the best-available science," Abernathy said. "For particular products there are health risks and environmental risks associated with common products used, so we choose to avoid using pesticides whenever possible."

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